Tuesday, December 03, 2013

You Lie!

President Obama
has yet to make good on the administration's promises that he would
sign up for health insurance on the new government exchanges, the White
House acknowledged on Monday.

White House press secretary Jay Carney said that Obama has not signed up for Obamacare and that he did have a reason for the delay...

Shortly after Obama signed the new health care law in March 2010, a
White House official said the president planned to walk the walk and
sign up for the insurance exchanges his law created.
“The president will participate in the exchange,” an administration official told USA Today at the time.

If he follows through with the pledge, Obama will be opting to
pay for the insurance without receiving a taxpayer subsidy because the
law doesn't provide the tax benefit for those with access to generous
coverage through their employers.

5 comments:

allen (in Michigan)
said...

Was there ever any doubt? Even before the law was crowbarred through Congress every group with some political clout made sure they wouldn't have to enjoy the manifold benefits of Obamacare. It's a cinch the unions weren't exercising their waning political power to avoid something beneficial.

Lie or not, why would you give up a ridiculously lucrative health care plan to get something less good? The real problem is that if you want to have a real national health care plan that works, EVERYONE needs to be in the same pool of patients. And, everyone needs to be covered, or not receive care unless they can pay. Subsidies for the poor, okay ... but the only way it works is if the old and sick are paid for by the young and healthy. Those young and healthy are going to be old and sick someday ... and that's not a pyramid scheme like social security ... it's something that can be defined on actuarial tables to average out health care costs over one's life.

A national health care system's a way to fund the health care of those with political influence at the expense of those without. Of course they're not sold that way - how could they be? - but that's the inevitable result.

Even the old and sick, who have to be subsidized by the young and healthy, don't fare all that well. How could they? They're devouring resources that could be better used to see to the needs of the powerful and the health care bureaucracy. That's why there's a brisk, cross-border medical trade between the U.S. and Canada. Some of Canada's old and sick get tired of waiting for their national health care system to see to their needs and pay out of their own pockets for the medical care their own government denies them.

allen ... I wasn't suggesting a national health care plan. I was suggesting a government facilitated competitive market, that allowed individuals to be pooled together ... so that health risks could be averaged out. Ideally, the bigger the pools, the lower the rates. That needs to be accompanied by forcing people to carry health coverage - or not get health care. I mean ...you don't need home insurance if you're never going to have your house burgled or catch on fire ... why should the people who don't have their houses burn down pay for the people who's houses do?